Just about this time last year, we were starting to see a number of trees and shrubs with Japanese beetles. Japanese beetles seem to appear overnight and can defoliate a shrub within hours and a tree within days.

Easy to distinguish by their opalescent head and copper-colored body, they emerge in early June from their larvae stage and immediately seek out food. Once they start to dine on the leaves of their host, the damaged leaves emit an odor that attracts even more beetles. Japanese beetles prey on a variety of trees and shrubs, but favorites are linden, crabapple, apple, Norway maple, pin oaks, birch, fruit trees and rose bushes.

Response time to treat your trees and shrubs should be immediate. If you see signs of Japanese beetles in your landscape, contact your local Arbor Masters to treat your trees and shrubs as soon as possible to eliminate Japanese beetles from your landscape.

In addition to Japanese beetles, keep an eye out for scale. Scale are small brown round insects with a hard shell. They are often mistaken for part of the branch. They are usually found at the intersection of twigs to a branch and can be mistaken for a plant bud. Scale insects can cause twig die-back and leaf curling. An aggressive insect, scale can be extremely damaging to pin oak trees. A soil injection at the base of the tree is the proper treatment for scale and should be performed by a trained professional. An evaluation and possible treatment is recommended for the following year to keep scale in check.